In That House
by Captain Pagie
Summary: A story a about Sirius's time inside the Black Family House during OotP. Includes thoughts from Harry, Remus, Dumbledore and all the general people. Enjoy.
1. Trapped

Inside this House

By:

LiL Pippin Padfoot

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Disclaimer: This is based off a song, though it is NOT a songfic, which is band from FFnet.

So, enjoy! (BTW, I will post the lyrics after this one chapter, so you can see where the inspiration came from.)

(It's official, Austin can't take a joke, Trisher)

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Sirius was trapped. Okay, he was trapped in a very large extravagant mansion. Most people wouldn't mind something like that, but Sirius did. Sirius hated this house. His father had spared no expense to make this the grandest house, more comfortable than any other. And he had made it all that and more. 'Maybe,' thought Sirius, 'Maybe it would be better if I could totally clean it out.' Even though Sirius knew better than any that the evil that had gone inside the house of Black could never be fully cleaned, it at least gave him something to do.

Sirius sighed as he finished cleaning out yet another cubboard.

"Kreacher!" Sirius yelled as he spied the hideous house elf out of the corner of his eye. "Do not even think that you are going to take anything from that box."

"Me? Never. Always obeys Master's orders." Kreacher gave a slight bow. "Even if master is a dirty blood traiter who allows Mudbloods in the house..." Kreacher continued muttering under his breath as he left the room, after he had grabbed something from the box of items that Sirius had taken out of the cubboard.

Sirius didn't even try to go after Kreacher.

"That's not like you, old friend." Sirius turned to see Remus in the doorway.

"What can I say?" asked Sirius. "I'm going soft."

Remus snorted. "Then how come I don't believe you?"

Sirius shrugged. "I am so bored!" he said, collapsing into a chair.

"I understan-,"

"No," said Sirius. "You don't understand! You get to leave once in awhile. I don't. I have stay here, and sit around this house, this house which I hate by the way, and clean!"

"I believe you chose to clean." said Remus quietly.

"That's because it's better than nothing." said Sirius. "I want to leave. Please Remus, just a little while?"

"Sirius..." Remus contemplated for a minute. "I would if I could, but I can't! Dumbledore said you can't leave-,"

"I'm well aware of what Dumbledore said." Sirius's hopeful look was replaced with a scowl.

"-, Sirius, I can't betray his trust, I still feel bad about you being an Animagus and not telling him. Please, try to see it from my side."

"From your side?" Sirius jumped out of his chair. "From your side, things look pretty good." And Sirius stormed upstairs. Remus assumed to go stay with Buckbeak.

Remus sighed. Sirius couldn't be penned up. Why, no, What was Dumbledore thinking? Dumbledore could not keep Sirius here, in the house he hated with a passion.

_Dear Albus Dumbledore,_

Remus paused, trying to think of a nice way to chastise one of the wisest men in the world.

_I wanted to let you know, perhaps it isn't a good idea to keep Snuffles here. _

'This is harder than I thought.' Remus sighed.

_Perhaps someplace else would be better for him. We could keep this place, but a dog needs to run, not be locked up in a house all the ti-_

Just then, something ran into Remus's knee. Remus looked down and saw Sirius, Padfoot style, collar and leash in his mouth, headbutting Remus's knee.

Remus absentmindly scratched Padfoot's head. That was obviously not what he wanted. Padfoot hopped up, his huge paws on the table where Remus was writing the letter in the kitchen, and dropped the leash and collar on top of the letter. Remus sighed, and pushed them away.

"Sirius..." said Remus. "I can't."

Padfoot whimpered like a pathetic little puppy. Except he didn't look like a pathetic little puppy. He looked like a happy Grim, his tale wagging back and forth, his head on his front paws, looking out from his gray doggie eyes at Remus.

"I can't. No." said Remus firmly.

Padfoot growled, and Remus handed the leash back to Padfoot, who just turned and walked out of the kitchen, tail between his legs.

Remus pushed them to the other side of the table and resumed his letter.

_-me. For instance, he just begged me for a walk. A walk I can't give him. Dumbledore, it's killing me as much as it is him. _

Remus paused.

_He might do something crazy soon. Or I might. _

_R. Lupin._

Remus took the letter and sent it on the Manor's resident owl, a new one that Remus had bought, a very plain brown owl that wouldn't draw any attention. Remus stood by the window and watched it soar away wishing that he could take all of his and the world's problems with it.

Sirius scowled as he threw a chicken bone to Buckbeak.

"Can't even take me for walk!" he raged. "I mean, this property is unplottable. Do you know what the means?"

Buckbeak tossed his head, and chomped on the bone.

"I'll take that as a no." said Sirius. "It means that no matter how hard they try, unless they know it's here, they can't find it! Rather clever, actually, the only thing I can give my father kudos for. He'd roll in his grave if he knew how his precious house was being used now." Sirius gave a barklike laugh. "Oh, if I could see his face." he said, not so much to Buckbeak as to himself.

Buckebeak gave a sidelong look to his master, who was sitting in a corner.

"Ah," said Sirius. "If I don't get out of here, I'll see him soon enough I expect." and with that thought, Sirius became quiet an sullen.

Dumbledore recieved Remus's letter that night. Dumbledore wondered if Remus thought he was stupid. Of course he knew that Sirius couldn't be locked inside forever. Dumbledore smiled grimly at the fact that even Azkaban couldn't contain him. Dumbledore pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, quill, and ink.

_Dear Remus,_

_In response to your letter,_

And that was about as far as Dumbledore got. There was a knock on the door, and Dumbledore hastily moved Remus's paper to a desk drawer, and with a quick turn of a key, (Dumbledore found that sometimes the muggle way worked better, also some one would notice him doing a spell, that made more noise than locking the drawer himself) the paper was locked in drawer.

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_I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key_

_And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me_


	2. An Unwelcome Response

Inside this House

By:

LiL Pippin Padfoot

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Disclaimer: "Sirius is brave, loyal, reckless, embittered and slightly unbalanced by his long stay in Azkaban. He has never really had the chance to grow up; he was around twenty-two when he was sent off to Azkaban, and has had very little normal adult life. Lupin, who is the same age, seems much older and more mature. Sirius's great redeeming quality is how much affection he is capable of feeling. He loved James like a brother and he went on to transfer that attachment to Harry." - J.K. Rowling.

I do not own Harry Potter or nothin to do with him. Got it?

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Remus was rather surprised that he did not get a response from Dumbledore the next day, Sirius did.

_Dear Snuffles,_

_I understand that you do not want to stay inside. I emplore you to please humor me, an old man, and stay there for a bit longer. _

_Albus Dumbledore_

Sirius had angrily wadded it up and thrown it into the fireplace.

"Humor him." he said. "Why should I?" he asked to no one imparticular, even though Remus was the only one close enough to listen to his rant. "He wasn't the one who's been locked in Azkaban half his life." Sirius said bitterly. "I was the one that was denied freedom in that, that, _place_. I never should've come out of hiding, you know." said Sirius, waving his breakfast, a piece of toast, around.

"But," said Remus. "Wasn't it worth it, to see Harry?"

Sirius took a bite out of his toast and didn't say anything.

"Well?" asked Remus.

"Oh," said Sirius. "You know that you're right Remus, you are always right. It was worth it see Harry, but I don't know why I just didn't stay in Hogsmade, I would've been close to Harry-,"

"Closer to being caught," Remus commented.

"-but I wouldn't be stuck here in the same house that I ran away from, the same house that technicaly, I shouldn't even have, the house where I'm being held prisonor."

"I wouldn't go that far." said Remus.

"I would. At least the food is better here." said Sirius

Remus smiled. Sirius hardly ever talked about his time in Azkaban, but when he did, in little jokes like these, it made Remus think that maybe Sirius was letting it go, bit by bit.

"Of course," said Sirius, looking at his burnt toast, "Mine isn't much better."

Dumbledore had decided that he should write the letter directly to Sirius, rather than to Remus and have Remus tell Sirius what to do. Dumbledore understood that Remus was much more responsible than Sirius, and had always been, he also knew that Sirius tended to be more stubborn and had to be told straight out, rather than listen to some one else's orders from some one else. So Dumbledore had thrown the 'Dear Remus' letter in the fireplace and began a new letter to Sirius. When that letter was finished, he sent it off on a plain brown school owl. This was definetly not a mission for the brightly colored Fawks.

Remus glanced in the open doorway. Sirius was sitting opposite of Buckbeak, tossing dead rats up in the air for him to catch. Remus walked away, hoping that Sirius hadn't seen him. When Remus came back downstairs, to the kitchen, Dumbledore was there, talking to Tonks, who currently had curly blonde hair, that she was twisting around her finger. Her currently big blue eyes glanced up the stairs, and saw Remus.

"Ah, hello Remus." said Dumbledore as Remus entered the kichen.

"Hi!" said Tonks brightly smiling.

"How's Sirius doing?" asked Dumbledore.

Remus looked at Dumbledore.

"Did you know your face and actions do more talking than words ever can?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry." said Remus, sitting down, and accepting a coup of tea from Tonks who promptly spilled some of it.

"Sorry." she muttered, and ran off to get a towel.

"Well?" Dumbledore looked at Remus. "How is Sirius?"

"He's..." Remus tried to pick out the right words. "He's like a child." he said. "He doesn't understand that Harry is a child, and that he is not."

"You have to understand," said Dumbledore. "You were able to become an adult, and Remus, you did became very mature from a young age, Sirius hasn't had the chance. Almost as soon as he became an almost responsible adult he was sent to Azkaban."

Remus digested this. "I don't mean it like he acts like a child, I mean, it's hard. I think he thinks that time stopped in while he was in Azkaban, and now that he's back, he's still young, and Harry can replace James."

"Harry is remarkably like his father." commented Dumbledore.

"Sometimes I wish he wasn't." said Remus. It was painful for Remus to see Harry, a walking talking almost carbon copy of James. Remus knew that even though Sirius was mostly sane, he was still not all there from his stay in Azkaban. Not that Remus was implying that Sirius was crazy. Sirius was crazy in a reckless way, not like thinking Harry _is_ James.

Sirius had quit listening after Remus said he was acting like a child. Sirius had bought a few Extendable Ears from the Weasly Twins, not really intending to use them, but turned out they came in handy.

'Hmph.' he thought. 'I have to listen to a conversation in my OWN house.' Sirius tossed another dead rat to Buckbeak, threw the extendable ear across the room, thought better of it (Buckbeak might think it's a worm) and stomped down the stairs. He wasn't aware that it was very childish of him to do so, but he wanted them to know he was coming.

Sirius stormed into the kitchen.

"Hello Sirius." said Dumbledore.

"Not talking about me are we?" Sirius asked.

Remus paled. Sirius has heard is comment.

"I suppose since I'm so childish I guess I should just leave you to your grown-up conversation."

Dumbledore looked at Sirius, then up at the ceiling, where the Extendable Ear was.

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "Useful things, Extendable Ears, but they sometimes do not pick up the full conversation." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea, and Sirius froze, he was caught.

"Fine." he said after a moment of silence. "You caught me." he flopped into a chair.

"Sirius..." Remus started, but was cut short by Sirius's glare.

"I am here for reason." said Dumbledore, who had finished his tea and soon began sucking on a lemond drop. "Sirius, and I don't want any arguing."

Sirius bobbed his head. 'Can't promise you anything.' he thought. And he sat down to listen to what he was sure would be a lecture.

_And this life sentence that I'm serving_

_I admit that I'm every bit deserving _

_But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair_


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